


the saddest word in the whole wide world

by doctorsimmons



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, i'm sorry i'm so sorry, wonder woman spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 01:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11243658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorsimmons/pseuds/doctorsimmons
Summary: alternatively titled, 'five times steve trevor almost says 'i love you' (and one time he does).





	the saddest word in the whole wide world

“the saddest word  
in the whole wide world  
is the word _almost_.” - nikita gill

i. Steve Trevor wakes up on a beach, and the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen stares down at him curiously. She must be the angel-like figure who pulled him from the wreck of his plane and saved him from drowning. He almost says “I love you,” and he genuinely means it, but he doesn’t even know this woman. His reverie is broken when she says, “You’re a man,” but he can’t seem to get those three little words out of his mind. 

ii. “I love you” still resonates in Steve’s thoughts many hours later, when they’re on the boat to London. Diana tells Steve how the war will stop and that the world will be better once she defeats Ares, and he wishes more than anything he could believe her, but he can’t. Not that he doesn’t want to, but with all the horrible things he’s seen, it’s difficult for him to believe that one single force could be causing the war. He tries to hold onto her optimism, though, and again, those three little words echo in his mind.

iii. Steve follows Diana onto No Man’s Land. He watches as she dismantles German machine guns and takes their men down so the Allies can cross. To an extent, Steve knows what Diana is capable of, but this is the first time he’s seen the full might of her powers. What he admires most about her, thought, is her empathy, her willingness to help people. If they weren’t in the middle of a battle, he’d tell her that he loves her. 

iv. Diana’s reactions to seeing babies and tasting ice cream for the first time are pretty high on Steve’s list of his favorite things about her, but he’d be lying if watching her react to snow didn’t beat both of those. They talk about the future, about what life is like when there aren’t any wars to fight, and Steve resists the overwhelming urge to tell Diana that he loves her. He wants her to say it first.

v. The closest Steve comes to telling Diana that he loves her is in the tiny inn room in Veld. Steve already knows that Diana is beautiful, but somehow, in the inn’s dim candlelight, she’s even more beautiful, almost angelic. More than anything, Steve wants to tell Diana he loves her, but he’s so absorbed in her, in enjoying her company, that he can’t form the words. Instead, he kisses her forehead, and they fall asleep.

‘she almost stopped him.  
he almost lived.  
they almost made it.’

\+ i. Steve knows what he has to do. He cradles Diana’s face in his hands, telling her, “It has to be me.” She’s shaking her head, so he takes his watch off and puts it in her hands.

“I wish we had more time. I love you.” Then he’s sprinting towards the plane. When Diana calls his name, Steve turns around for half a second, and he almost stops.

Almost.

**Author's Note:**

> i tweaked the poem so it'd fit.  
> the original is here. http://untamedunwanted.tumblr.com/post/93318561473/the-saddest-word-in-the-whole-wide-world-is-the
> 
> thanks to cherry and ellie for beta-ing.


End file.
